Tap, tap.
A brush lightly tapped Han Seongtae’s cheek.
Two people stood surrounding Han Seongtae, touching up his face and hair.
“Han’s skin really is amazing.”
“How do you take care of it normally? Do you have some special secret or something?”
They were admiring Han Seongtae’s face.
His flawless face, without a single blemish, was more than enough to draw the stylists’ attention.
“We can just sweep his hair up like this.”
“It suits you so well.”
At their words, Han Seongtae gave a faint smile and looked at himself in the mirror.
With the touch of professionals on him, it was hard to find any trace of his former appearance.
Because he needed to show Yu’s masculine side, his usually gentle-looking face now had a sharper feel to it.
Knock, knock.
Someone knocked on the wall and stepped inside.
Through the mirror, Han Seongtae could see Britton Lee approaching where he was.
“Oh, Han, that looks great on you. You look good.”
“Thank you.”
“Can we talk for a moment?”
At Britton Lee’s question, the stylist nodded right away.
At her response, Britton Lee took a seat next to Han Seongtae.
He stared straight at Han Seongtae for a moment, then smiled and spoke.
“Han. Did you hear that we’ll be using a stuntman for this shoot?”
“Yes, you explained it last time.”
“What we’re shooting right now is a drift scene, so it’s very dangerous.”
“…”
“When you take the corner, there’s no need to push it too hard. We’re only taking the racing shots, and then we’ll use the stuntman.”
“Yes.”
“You don’t have to feel pressured while filming. Just relax, all right? You can do it comfortably.”
“Yes, understood.”
At Britton Lee’s words, Han Seongtae nodded immediately.
He naturally understood that he was telling him not to feel pressured.
Since he was not particularly feeling any pressure, Han Seongtae was able to answer without difficulty.
After hearing his answer, Britton Lee stood up, patted his shoulder as he told him he would see him on set, and then left.
Han Seongtae watched his back through the mirror, and the moment the director disappeared from his sight, he lowered his head.
A script was resting on his lap.
“We’re done.”
“Ah, thank you.”
Once the makeup was finished, Han Seongtae stood up right away and left the dressing room.
On the way to the set for filming, he could see staff busily moving around nearby.
Among them, Han Seongtae spotted the stuntmen.
Staring at them in their safety gear, Han Seongtae quickened his steps and headed toward where Britton Lee was.
Britton Lee was standing in front of the cars, talking with the stuntmen and actors.
Han Seongtae walked closer to them.
“Director.”
“Ah, Han, perfect timing. I’ll show you which car you’ll be driving.”
“Yes.”
At the director’s words, Han Seongtae nodded and followed him.
Britton Lee pointed to an old car.
It was an old model with four doors.
It looked so shabby that it made you wonder whether it could even run.
“This is Han’s car. Isn’t it nice? We went through quite a lot trying to get this.”
At Britton Lee’s words, Han Seongtae stepped closer to the car and reached out his hand.
At the cold, hard feel of it, a faint smile formed at the corner of his mouth.
‘So this is the car I’ll be driving.’
It was shabby, and compared to the other cars it looked unimpressive, but Han Seongtae did not care about that.
[‘The One Who Lives and Dies by Speed’ says that a true master does not blame his tools, and that as long as it can run, that is enough.]
He had not joined Rampage just to drive a nice car.
If he could act and drive, that alone was enough to satisfy him.
“It’s nice.”
“Right? You have no idea how much trouble we went through getting this car and tuning it. Luckily, it turned out really well.”
At the director’s words, Han Seongtae nodded and opened the car door.
Beside the driver’s seat, in place of a passenger seat, there was nitro gas installed that could be used as a booster.
Looking at it, it finally sank in that he was really filming Rampage.
“Then now that all the actors are here, shall we start shooting right away?”
At the director’s words, everyone nodded.
Han Seongtae got into the car immediately.
Adjusted to fit his body, the car felt quite comfortable.
Because it was such an old car, there was a slight bit of discomfort, but that only added a sense of tension, which made it just right.
“Hoo…”
Han Seongtae gripped the steering wheel tightly and let out a deep breath.
After taking a large, slow breath, he turned his head and looked over the inside of the car.
He could see that a camera had been set up on one side to capture Han Seongtae driving.
“All right, let’s go!”
At Britton Lee’s words, Han Seongtae let out another deep breath.
Rumble, rumble!
In time with the car’s engine, his heart also roared to life.
This was the moment when the engine sound began to feel more beautiful than any music an orchestra could play.
The steering wheel in his hands was a passage.
A passage connecting the car’s pulse to his own.
As he slowly curled his hands around the wheel, one corner of his mouth lifted.
And then—
“Action!”
Filming began.
Han Seongtae slowly raised his head and looked ahead.
Actors, and beside them several cars lined up in a row.
The racers gathered in Boston.
The role he was playing, Yu, was a man known as the greatest racer here.
Rumble.
His car let out a rough exhaust growl as it pushed through the crowd.
“What the hell?”
“Wow…. Look at that car. That thing actually runs?”
A few of the racers looked at Yu’s car and scoffed.
Compared to the sports cars they drove, Yu’s car could only be called an old man.
It was not strange at all that the racers would look at his car and dismiss it.
“Huh?”
“It’s Yu! Yu!”
“Who’s Yu?”
“You don’t know Yu? He’s Boston’s tyrant!”
“That guy is the tyrant?”
“Yeah!”
The ones who recognized Yu could not dismiss him just by looking at his car.
They had raced against Yu before, and no one had ever beaten him.
Yu was a racer recognized by Boston.
At least within Boston, not knowing him was enough to get you called a spy.
Tap.
After getting out of the car, Yu walked straight to the host who had arranged today’s race.
“Yo, the tyrant’s here?”
The host spotted Yu, grinned in welcome, and held out a fist, and Yu also held out his own and bumped it against his.
“How much today?”
“Three thousand dollars.”
“Did some big spender show up?”
At the mention of three thousand dollars, Yu looked at him with a slightly surprised expression.
Usually, when a race happened in Boston, the prize money rarely exceeded five hundred dollars.
The only times it went past five hundred were when some wealthy people showed up for the race.
The three thousand dollars gathered this time was the largest prize pool they had ever had.
“Look over there.”
The host pointed off to one side, and following his finger, Yu turned his head and saw one man.
An irritatingly handsome guy, with a sports car beside him.
For the price of that one car, Yu could probably buy ten of the one he drove.
“So the rich kid showed up.”
“He’s the new guy. Think you can beat him?”
At the host’s words, Yu let out a small chuckle.
If other people heard that question, they would have shaken their heads right away.
No matter how good your driving skills were, if the performance of the cars was different, winning was not easy.
Yu knew that fact very well.
Yes, he definitely knew it, and yet…
‘That doesn’t mean it’ll be easy to lose, either.’
If his driving had been so lacking that he could lose to a pampered boy like that, would he have ever gotten the nickname “tyrant”?
He had always lived with less than enough.
And he had filled that lack with his own effort and talent.
And today would be no different.
Tap.
Instead of answering, Yu lightly thumped the host’s chest.
At that, the host’s mouth curled into a grin.
“True. It’d be stranger if you lost. You’re the tyrant.”
Leaving the host’s words behind him, Yu returned to his car.
Clank.
After popping the hood, he checked the condition of the car.
Since it was such an old model, it had to be checked in advance before racing.
[‘The One Who Lives and Dies by Speed’ says that in this condition, there is no problem at all with running.]
Han Seongtae did not know cars well, but the being beside him was different.
As he was looking at the god’s message, he released the support rod holding up the hood.
Clank, click.
The hood closed, and just as he was about to head back to the car, he saw an unfamiliar hand resting on it.
“There are still people driving things like this these days? Does it even run?”
An arrogant tone. An irritating face.
It was the big spender the host had mentioned earlier.
“Daniel. You’re Yu, right?”
Watching him introduce himself and hold out his hand, Yu did not take Daniel’s offered hand.
“Take your hand off.”
“You’re prickly. I was just curious. Just curious. I’ve never seen a car like this before.”
“……”
“I heard your driving is amazing. I came here just because of your name. Think you can beat me in a car like this?”
Yu, who had been opening the driver’s side door, paused at Daniel’s words.
At Daniel asking whether he could beat him, laughter came out.
Could he beat him?
[‘The One Who Lives and Dies by Speed’ pats your shoulder, saying racers do not run their mouths.]
Heh.
Yu let out a short laugh, then got into the driver’s seat.
Daniel, who had been watching him, raised his eyebrows and lowered them again before walking off.
After watching Daniel, Yu turned the wheel and pulled the car up to the starting line.
Vroom, vroom!
Rumble, rumble!
Cars on both sides were crying out.
As the cars spat out exhaust sounds as if they wanted to leap forward that very instant, the host pulled out a pistol.
Yu tightened his grip around the steering wheel.
[‘The One Who Lives and Dies by Speed’ smiles, saying it has been a long time since he felt this kind of tension.]
Thump-thump.
Rumble!
He could not even tell whether what he was hearing now was the sound of the engine or the sound of his heart.
His mind was filled with nothing but the urge to burst forward immediately.
And then he saw one car standing beside him.
That smooth, beautifully shaped car made the one Yu was driving look pathetic by comparison.
Yu met Daniel’s eyes.
Bang!
At the same instant, the gunshot rang out.
Vroooom!
Like a cheetah sprinting, the cars shot across the starting line.
As Yu pressed hard on the accelerator and shifted gears, he could see the sports car ahead of him.
Daniel’s car was tearing down the road at a vicious speed, and there did not seem to be any car capable of chasing after it.
Watching that, Yu’s expression stayed calm.
He looked as if he did not care in the least that the other man had surged ahead first.
He drove at his own pace, and soon he could see a sharply bending corner ahead.
Up front, Daniel was reducing speed.
Britton Lee was worried about the actor’s safety.
From here on, it was the stuntman’s part.
There was no reason to increase speed while taking the corner.
[‘The One Who Lives and Dies by Speed’ says lowering speed is something only cowards do, and slams the pedal down.]
The speed of the car ahead dropped, and the speed of the car Han Seongtae was driving increased.
As the car’s speed rose, time slowed for Han Seongtae.
Screeeech!
The car swung around hard as it took the corner.
“…!”
As Han Seongtae turned the wheel, he could see Rogers through the windshield.
Rogers’s face, staring this way with his eyes wide in total shock.
At that expression, a deep smile spread across Han Seongtae’s lips.
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